Prayer Request for young Christian Leader in South Sudan

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

SOUTH SUDAN (ANS) -- Gary and Louis Short, leaders of Hope for Life International based in Arlington, WA (www.hopeforlifeinternational.org), are requesting urgent prayer for David, a young Christian leader in South Sudan who they says was jailed "unjustly" two weeks ago in South Sudan.

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"David was falsely accused by a jealous and angry person, who probably had tribal motivations," they said in a message to ANS.

"This man who knew David convinced security personnel to arrest him. Unfortunately, the police there often jail people who have been accused of wrong regardless of evidence and then sort out the truth while the person is in jail. This is what has happened to David.

"South Sudan, the newest nation on earth is trying to emerge into a more progressive democratic justice system from a long period of military government which it had practiced through the civil war years. The clash of these cultures often means the individual accused is at the mercy of the accusers and police."

Gary Short

The couple went on to say, "About a year and a half ago we had another three leaders thrown in jail for three months and this persecution threatened not only their safety but the forward movement of the Gospel crusades and church planting in which we are involved. Our ministry has seen thousands turn to Christ in the last few years of the fragile peace in South Sudan.

"One of the underlying issues in this struggle to establish a new nation are the tribes along the Uganda, South Sudanese border who traditionally live on both sides of the border. David, though he considers himself Sudanese, has relatives living in border towns on both sides of the line. Unfortunately some in South Sudan seems to have a short memory as to how much they were helped by both Uganda and Kenya during its civil war with thousands of refugees fleeing to these border countries."

Louise Short